How much does a trip to India cost? Daily budget and prices

India is cheap by US or European standards, but the spread between styles is wide. A backpacker sharing a dorm, eating thalis and taking sleeper trains can travel on a few thousand rupees a day. A mid-range traveller in a 3★ or heritage hotel with AC trains and app cars spends roughly three times that. Comfort travel — palace hotels, a car and driver, guides and domestic flights — costs more than a mid-range trip in Western Europe.

The figures below are per person per day, sharing a room at mid and comfort levels. Extras (laundry, tips, water, the odd drink) are folded into the totals and shown separately. They exclude international flights, the e-visa and any car with driver, which is quoted separately.

Street and local restaurant food is the biggest saving. A thali — rice or rotis with several curries — costs ₹150–350 and fills you up. Chai from a stall is ₹15–30. A beer in a bar runs ₹200–450, and alcohol is taxed heavily in several states, so drinking adds up faster than eating.

Transport is cheap if you use it like locals. A Delhi metro ride is ₹10–60, an app cab about ₹200–400 for 10 km, and an auto should run on the meter or an agreed fare. Trains are the value story: sleeper class is very cheap, AC classes cost more but still far less than flying. Domestic flights are about ₹6,000 one way with a bag (2026 estimate).

Monuments are where the budget surprises people. Foreigners pay 10–20 times the Indian ticket price at major sites, with lower rates for SAARC and BIMSTEC nationals. The Taj Mahal is ₹1,300 including the main tomb (check current rates).

Carry rupees in small notes. Autos, street food, temple tickets and tips all run on cash, and drivers rarely have change for a ₹500 note. ATMs are common but often cap a single withdrawal near ₹10,000 and charge a fee; use machines inside banks or malls rather than on the street.

Cards work in hotels, malls and larger restaurants, and some rail and ride-hailing apps accept them. UPI, the phone-payment system Indians use everywhere, generally needs an Indian bank account or mobile number, so do not plan to rely on it. A prepaid tourist wallet (UPI One World) is sold at some airports — check availability on arrival.

Tipping is not obligatory but is common for guides, drivers and hotel staff; ask your hotel or operator what is expected locally (check).

Two things break an Indian budget: dates and palaces. Goa over Christmas and New Year, and hill stations in the Himalayan North in peak summer, are the classic expensive weeks, and the cheapest places sell out early. Rajasthan's heritage and palace hotels are a category of their own — wonderful, and priced like Europe.

Festivals and pilgrimage seasons fill trains and hotels on the routes involved (check dates for your trip). Booking trains early is not just about money: popular AC classes sell out ahead, and last-minute seats push you onto flights.

The hot pre-monsoon weeks and the monsoon itself are usually the cheapest times to travel, when rates fall but heat, humidity and rain change what you can do. Check the best time to visit before you lock dates.

Eat where locals eat: thalis, tiffin places and street stalls cost a fraction of hotel restaurants and are often better. Take overnight sleeper trains instead of a hotel night plus a flight. Use metro systems in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, and app cabs over hotel cars. Travel outside the peak weeks. Book monuments online where possible to skip touts and queues.

If you want a car and driver, it is priced per vehicle, not per person, so a group of three or four splits it into a reasonable daily cost. Solo travellers are usually better off with trains and app cabs.

Multiply your daily tier by the number of days, then add the fixed costs: international flights, the e-visa, any domestic flights, and a car and driver if you want one. Add a buffer for monument tickets, tips and the odd splurge — 10–15% is a reasonable working figure (check against your own plan).

Use the trip cost estimator to run your own numbers by country and style, and check the visa requirements page for the e-visa fee before you budget.